NY's Finest: The Return of New York Hip-Hop

Most of popular music has gone global. Within a few minutes of low-level blog browsing, you can stumble upon a roving Thai drone-rock band and a 16-year-old Swedish rapper who owes more to Bun B than to Peter, Bjorn and John. And while styles, themes and tropes are ever more globally accessible, the “where you’re from” conversation is still going strong in the hip-hop universe.

New York has historically had one of the roughest styles when it comes to hip-hop, and while these up-and-coming young bloods don’t skimp on grit, they approach their lyrics and beats with a cosmopolitan air that represents how their city has changed since the last “golden” era of New York hip-hop in the ’90’s. Below is our list of New York’s Finest.